We Need a Little Christmas
by lynchxdipippa
Summary: Ally Dawson has always loved Christmas, and the blonde down the hall, maybe not so much. But when he tells her he doesn't believe in Christmas, Ally decides she's going to change that. Christmas AU. *ONLY 5 CHAPTERS
1. Chapter 1

**Christmas time is here! So you guys know I love Christmas, so this year instead of just doing a one shot, I'm going to do a short five chapter story. The first four chapters will be all for you guys and then the fith chapter will be Laurarauraross's Christmas present, (don't worry, she already knows). So, that's it! I hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"There, perfectly aligned with the snowflakes." Ally said to her curly haired best friend, who rolled her eyes at the slightly OCD brunette.<p>

"The Christmas lights looked fine when I put them up. Plus they're in the hallway, its not like anyone is going to stop and say, 'hey these Christmas lights aren't even with the snowflakes, this is a disgrace!'" She said, sarcastically. It was Ally's turn to roll her eyes. "Don't you have to go meet Jace?" Ally said, making her latina friend light up.

"Oh yeah! Okay, I'll call you later and tell you all about the date, wherever he's taking me. I hate Christmas suprises." She said, picking up her bag that was sitting by Ally's apartment door a little ways down the hall, decorated with a snowy white reef with a red bow. "I'm sure you'll have fun." Ally said, hugging her friend. "Just make sure you call me. I'm going to need help if you-know-who shows up." She said with a shudder, making her friend laugh.

"I will. And don't be all lonely and mopy this year. Christmas is your favorite holiday, but you always have to spend it alone."

This was, sadly true. Ally Dawson had loved Christmas since she was old enough to know what it was. She loved the hot cocoa, the smell of the Christmas trees, and ever since she moved to New York, the snow.

She just loved how almost everybody was marginally happier when Christmas came. But, after college when she decided to stay in New York with Trish, she had always had to spend it alone. Except on the rare occasion where her dad came to visit or Trish wasn't busy managing something.

"Eh, my spirit for Christmas is enough for like, two or three people." She said, making her best friend laugh. Ally waved to her curly friend as she stepped into the elevator. "Bye Trish." She said, getting a final wave once the doors closed.

She turned around and admired the creation of white lights and snowflakes combined to make a Christmas tree, with a white star sitting at the top to tie it off. She bent down, picking up boxes from the lights and snowflakes. She had about two or three boxes in her hands when she heard the elevator ding, and footsteps come closer to her.

"You know tennants aren't supposed to decorate the hallways according to building rules and regulations." Someone said from behind her, making her pause in her box pick ups. The voice sounded smooth and dark, and she probably would have thought it was attractive if it wasn't for the hint of malicious sarcasm in it.

"Well, yeah" Ally said laughing, "But what's wrong with a little Christmas decorations?" She said, stacking the boxes inside one another as she stood up, making them easier to carry. She heard the voice scoff. "Its covering the whole wall, I wouldn't say they were little."

At this remark, Ally turned around to look at the person insulting her decorations. She had meant to give him some choice words of her own, but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw how freaking gorgeous he was.

He had blonde hair that flopped over his head, some pieces falling into his hazel eyes. His face was chisled in the way that it was handsome, but still had that boyishly cute aspect to it. He had pink lips that were in a half smirk, like the asshat knew he was stunning.

"Hello, did you lose the ability to speak?" He said, running one of his black gloved hands through his hair. Ally blinked, and sighed in frustration.

"No, I have not. And I'll have you know that the land lord asked me personally to put up decorations." She said, and he quirked an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Really. He's an old friend of my Dad's." She said, crossing her arms.

"Well, can't argue with a friend of the landlord's can I?" He said, walking around her and unlocking the apartment one door away from the lights on the wall. And, right before he closed the door, he said something purposefully to piss her off.

"Oh, and your snowflakes are crooked." He said, making her give a short laugh of disbelief at him. And before she could spin around and respond and tell him in fact that her snowflakes were not crooked, the door closed, no sign of Christmas swinging on the door.

* * *

><p>Ally was putting her plate up from her dinner when her phone rang on the counter next to her. She picked it up and smiled at the caller ID.<p>

"Hey Trish." She said, walking into her living room. Trish sighed happily on the other side of the phone. "You know earlier when I said I hated Christmas suprises?" She said, an airy note to her voice. Ally laughed.

"Yes, vaugely." She said, sitting on the couch and folding her leg under her.

"I lied." Trish said, sighing again. She heard something thump, and figured it was her friend laying back on her bed. "So your date was fun I'm guessing?" Ally said knowingly. Trish giggled.

"He took me ice skating Ally! Ice skating! And then we came back to the apartment cause he's going to make dinner! For a boy who reapeatedly broke bones when we were younger, I think he's really sensitive." Trish said, and Ally laughed.

"So enough about my day. What did you do after I left you with our masterpiece?" She said. Ally's smile dropped a bit. She was still a little ticked off about the blonde grinch from down the hall.

"I think there's a new guy in my building." Ally said, trying to sugarcoat her dislike of the blonde.

He could have said that she had missed a box on the floor, maybe even had a missing light bulb on the white strands. But to question the symetrical soudness of her snowflake tree when she had checked it once, and definitely checked it twice, was something that _no one_ did.

Trish seemed to detect this in her voice, so she was careful with what she said next. "And do you have a problem with this new guy Allyson?" She said. Ally huffed.

"Problem? No problem I can't solve. First he comes up behind me and tells me the rules of decorating the hallways, saying stuff about rules and regulations. Like I haven't read the rules from back to front multiple times."

"Well of course." Trish said, smiling at her ranting friend.

"Then when I tell him Robbie asked me to do it, he gets this look of disapproval on his annoyingly handsome face." Ally said heatedly.

"How dare he."

"And that's not even the worst of it! Once he walked around me and into his apartment, he turned back around and told me that the snowflakes weren't straight."

"No." Trish said, mock suprised. She was actually trying very hard not to laugh.

"_My_ snowflakes weren't straight. Me." Ally said running a hand through her hair. "Unbelievable." She said, biting her lip.

"To his defense Ally, he probably has no idea who you are. Even if he is new, you only talk to like three people in the building." Trish said. Ally scoffed, laying down on her couch so her whole body was the length of it.

"That's not true." Ally said incredulously. Trish laughed.

"Yes it is Alls! You talk to the family you babysitt for, Old Mrs. Wilkens, and Donny. And we only talk to Donny because we went to school with him for four years and it would be kind of rude not too." She said. Ally bit her lip, knowing her friend was right.

"Are you sure he's even new?" Trish said with a hint of bemusement. Ally rolled her eyes.

"Yes I'm sure. Maybe I only talk to three people, but I would have at least noticed him. He's gorgeous. A sarcastic ass, but gorgeous." Ally said. She heard Jace call over the phone to Trish and new she had to go.

"Ally, maybe just try to avoid him if you don't like him that much after talking to him once." Trish said. Ally sighed.

"Yeah, maybe your right. Now go enjoy your date. And tell Jace I said hi."

"Will do." She said, and Ally pressed the end button.

She had decided to take Trish's advice and avoid the blonde, but it wasn't as hard as she had thought it would be. All she had to do was not get to the elevator or walk across the huge apartment lobby when he was on one side. But as she was avoiding him, she had noticed more things about him.

Like the fact that he concentrated very hard on walking towards the elevator when he had to pass the 25 ft Christmas tree in the lobby, and always passed up the charity Santa Claus across the street without even a glance at him. And the fact that even as Christmas drew closer, there was still no decoration on his door.

She had come to the conclusion it wasn't her decorations he had hated, it was Christmas.

But she let it go, and had only thought of the fact that one of her neighbors hated Christmas once since she had come to the conclusion, and twice now as she glanced at the blonde's door.

She started to dig in her purse for her keys, but they weren't where she usually put them. She rumaged in her purse a few more times before she came to the conclusion she had left them in her apartment, again.

She groaned, and pulled her phone out of her now very disorganized purse. She dialed Trish's number, but got a voicemail.

"Hey Trish. Um, so I left my keys inside again, any chance you could come over and open it with the spare? Thanks, bye." She said dejectedly. She ran a hand through her hair and leaned on her door, sliding down until she hit the floor.

She stretched out her legs, careful not to tear her black colored tights on the cold concrete floor.

She went into her purse and pulled out her worn copy of _Let it Snow_, her favorite holiday book. She opened to her bookmarked page, and planned to read until Trish came, or it got so cold she had to result to desperate measures.

She heard the elevator ding a few times distantly, and doors open as people came home. But, when she heard footsteps coming her way. She thought it must be one of her neighbors passing to their apartement, but when they stopped next to her, she looked up.

It was the cute blonde she had been avoiding, holding a warm cup in his still black gloved hands.

"Here." He said, in a lot nicer voice then when she had first spoke to him. She opened her mouth and closed it.

"I don't drink coffee."

He smiled, showing a row of straight white teeth. "Its hot chocolate. You looked like you were freezing." He said, still holding it out to her. She looked from him to the cup once more before she gingerly reached up and took it in her hands, all the warmth spreading through her fingers.

She opened the lid, the smell of the chocolate wafting up to her as she blew on it to make it cooler. She put the lid back on, looking up at the blonde. "Thank you." She said with some suprise laced through her words. He smiled down at her.

"No problem." He said nicely. She looked back down at the cup, and gingerely took a sip. She could taste the rich chocolate on her tounge, and felt the warmth spread through her as it went down her throat.

"Did you get locked out of your apartement?" He questioned, rocking back and forth on his heels. She looked up, after she took another sip of the delicious hot chocolate.

"I left my keys in there." Ally said, swallowing the bit of chocolate. He nodded, shaking some hair out of his eyes. "You don't keep a spare?"

Ally laughed. "No, I do."

The blonde raised his eyebrows in question. "You don't leave it in one of the plants or something?" He said. Ally laughed again, pointing to the plant on the right end of the hallway, which she was closest too.

"Everyone puts their keys in that plant," she said, and then switched over to pointing to the plant on the left end of the hall, closest to her white Christmas tree. "And everyone who thinks their clever puts it in that plant, because they think no one puts it in there. And then there is a small fraction of people who put it in the door jam on top but, I can't reach it. So my friend Trish keeps it, in a totally different apatement across town with her boyfriend." Ally said, taking another sip of her chocolate. The blonde smiled.

"That's good to know." He said, making her nod.

"Yup, its very good information." She said, before draining a little more from her cup. She looked down, expecting the boy to walk away by now. But, he didn't. He slid down next to her. She looked over at him.

"Look, I'm really sorry about the other day." He said, and Ally blinked. Now, she had two options. She could either take the high road, and decide to forgive him and let it go, or she could pretend that she had no idea what he was talking about and make him work for it. She took a sip of her hot chocolate.

"I have no clue what your talking about." She said.

So, not the high road.

The blonde smiled, and looked down, his shoulders shaking slightly. "The other day when I was really rude to you, and insulted the lovely snowflakes you put on the wall. Which are, indeed straight." He said, looking back up at her. Ally smiled.

"No need to apologise." She said, sipping her hot chocolate again. "Some people just don't like Christmas." The blonde smiled.

"Its not that I don't like Christmas, I just, don't believe in it." He said, looking at her sideways. Ally blinked at him.

"Huh." She said, a little hint of suprise in her voice. The blonde obviously didn't expect this kind of reaction to his words, because he was looking at her in surprise.

"Your not confused, or worried for my sanity?" He said. Ally shook her head.

"No, just a little surprised." She said, still sipping her chocolate.

"You see, I've met people who don't like Christmas. And I've met people who don't understand Christmas. But I've never really met someone who doesn't believe in it." Ally said. The blonde laughed a little. "Can I ask why?" She questioned. The boy looked up at the lights on the ceiling.

"A bunch of reasons really." He said. She figured that was the only explanation she was going to get, at least for now anyway. But, since she had figured out some people can't handle Christmas as well as she can, she made made a promise to herself that no matter what their problem with Christmas was, she'd try to fix it.

And that exact thought was going through her head when she stood up and held her hand out to the blonde after brushing off her skirt. "Come on."

He tilted his head at her. "What?" Ally rolled her eyes and just opened her palm a little bit more. "Come _on_." She said, a little more stress on the last word. He still stared at her for a few minutes before he grabbed her hand, and she pulled him up.

She turned and looked at the door to her apartment, sighing. She reached into her hair and removed a bobby pin that was holding half of her hair up. The hair came tumbling down around her face as she bent down, inserting the bobby pin in.

"What are you doing?" The blonde asked, looking at her as her hair covered her face.

"I'm picking the lock, what does it look like I'm doing?" Ally said, sticking the tip of her tongue out the corner of her mouth in concentration as she squinted at the key hole and the pin wiggling inside.

"Should I be concerned that you know how to pick a lock?" He said with a smile on his face. Ally popped the lock right after he said it, throwing her door open and looking at him. "Not unless you _really_ piss me off." She said, walking into her apartment and gesturing for him to follow.

He stepped hesitantly into the apartment, quickly forgetting his hesitance as he looked around. "Woah."

Ally's apartment mirrored her Christmas spirit, a _lot_.

She had twinkly white lights up, and her highly decorated Christmas tree in the corner. She had a little elf on the shelf sitting on top of her refridgerator, that happened to be littered with Christmas magnets. And her coffee table had a clear bowl of minature candy canes on it.

"Don't stand under the mistletoe." Ally said from her bedroom. The blonde looked up and indeed saw he was standing under the green plant with red berries hanging from the ceiling. He stepped back and rounded the couch, right as Ally came out with a phone in her hand, finishing a message to Trish telling her she didn't have to come.

The brunette held out a notebook with a snowman on the cover out to the blonde, who just looked at it. "What is it?" He finally questioned. Ally just rolled her eyes.

"A Christmas planner." She said, putting it in his gloved hands. He raised his eyebrows. "Why do I need a Christmas planner exactly?" He said, taking it.

"I, am going to get you to believe in Christmas." She said. The blonde laughed, his eyes crinkling. "Are you now?" He said, amusement lacing his words.

"I swear it."

He raised an eyebrow. "And what do I get out of this?" He said. Ally bit her lip, looking up and rocking on her heels. "The satisfaction of believing in Christmas." She said. He laughed again.

"I'm going to need something a little more interesting if your planning to change my whole view on a holiday." He said, taking his gloves off and putting them in his pocket. Ally thought about it.

"How about, I take down all my Christmas decorations if I don't get you to believe in Christmas." She said looking around at all her sparkly lights. The blonde nodded. "And if I get you to believe in Christmas," she continued, "You have to put up a Christmas tree in your apartment." She said. The boy considered this, then held out his hand. Ally placed it on the notebook, raising her right hand.

"I, Allyson Hope Dawson,"  
>"Well that explains a lot." Said the blonde, who closed his mouth when he got a silencing look from the brunette.<p>

"I, Allyson Hope Dawson, promise to do everything in my power to get," she paused, realizing she didn't know his name. The blonde smiled. "Austin Moon."

"To get Austin Moon to believe in Christmas." She said. Austin raised his right hand.

"And I, Austin Moon, promise to try my best to honor Miss Allyson—"  
>"Ally, you can call me Ally."<p>

"To honor Miss Ally Dawson's abilities in trying to get me to believe in Christmas." Austin said. Ally smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>First chapter, done! Well I hope you guys liked it! My last exam is tomorrow so I should be able to update soon, but until next time<strong>

**Stay lovely ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! So, I didn't realize how pressed for time I was to get this story done before Christmas so the updates will be all over the place for the next few days. But, the last chapter will definitely be on Christmas. So, enough of my talking... Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Ally got up when she heard a knock on the door, putting her book on the coffee table.<p>

She looked through the eye hole without really seeing anything before unlocking the door to find her curly haired best friend holding a brown bag in one hand, and two chocolate shakes in the other.

"I got lunch. The really good stuff too because I need to be a good friend for a few hours." She said smiling and wiggling the items of food in her hands. Ally raised her eyebrows and Trish sighed.

"I'm really sorry okay? I've been trying to get this new talent to sign with me and they have me running around everywhere. Some crap about, 'making me prove I'm a good manager'." She said rolling her eyes. Ally sighed and laughed silently before looking up at her best friend again.

"If it means anything, I know your a kick-ass manager." Ally said, and Trish smiled. Ally opened the door a little wider, inviting her friend in.

She walked straight to the table sitting right next to the window to the kitchen. Ally looked at Trish as she handed her the bottle of ketchup to put next to their food through said window.

"Just out of curiosity, why are you running around for this 'talent'?" Ally asked, sitting across from Trish as she pulled food from the bag. Trish sighed, opening the wrapping on her chicken sandwich from the diner down the street, who's foo happened to actually be very good considering they lived in New York.

"They are so good Ally. I haven't seen anybody so good since I heard you play the piano." Trish said, making Ally blush as she passed the

freshly shaken bottle to her. "Jace thinks I should give up on them, but I know they're going to be huge. And if I don't sign them I'll miss such a big oppurtunity." She said, shutting the cap of the ketchup.

Ally bit into her burger, careful to make sure none of the extra pickles fell off of it. She chewed thoughtfully and so did Trish before they both swallowed. "Well, if they're as good as you think I am—"

"Think? Ally your amazing. I don't know why you stopped playing." Trish said, taking a sip of her shake.

Ally shrugged. "I just don't have time. And, I'm sure you'll have these people signed before the end of the week." She said, changing the subject smoothly. Trish sighed, accepting the subject change as gracefully as she could.

"Yeah well, we'll see. But enough about me, what's going on with you? Have you been able to avoid Jack-ass Charming?" Trish said, biting into a ketchup covered fry.

Ally bit her lip before sucking on the straw in her shake. Trish raised an eyebrow. "What did you do Dawson?" She said, with a look of bemusement on her face. Ally dipped a fry in her shake and ate it, ignoring the disgusted look on the latina's face.

"Well, you know how I have that thing where I have too fix everybody's ideal on Christmas if its negative?" Ally said. Trish nodded.

"Yes, I do. And you have to warn me before you do that." She said pointing to the fry the brunette was currently dipping in her shake, making Ally roll her eyes and stick the fry in her mouth deliberately slow so her friend could see.

"Anyway, well I found out the reason why he was so rude to our decorations." Ally said. Trish raised her eyebrows in question.

"He doesn't believe in Christmas."

"Doesn't believe? That's different." Said Trish. Ally nods, finishing off her burger by popping the last little bit in her mouth.

"I mean, the kid in The Polar Express didn't believe in Christmas, but I can't really take Austin on a magical train to the North Pole so," Ally said, taking a sip of her shake. Trish laughed.

"So his name is Austin? He must be really cute if your willing to devote the whole of your Christmas plans to making him believe in Christmas."

"Yeah, well I still can't figure out what I'm going to do first. I usually have these things planned out but I can't think of anyhing." Ally said, dejectedly eating her last fry. Trish pursed her lips and leaned on the table.

"You could always wear ugly Christmas sweaters and sit on the couch and watch Christmas movies to prove your point. And throw in some type of Christmas beverage." Trish said, sipping on her shake. Ally looked up and smiled.

"Trish you are a freaking genius." Ally said excitedly. Trish just sipped her shake before speaking.

"No need to point out something that we all already know." She said, and Ally threw a balled up napkin at her.

* * *

><p>"Come in!" Ally shouted from her room when she heard a knock. She heard the door open and some barking along with it.<p>

"Come on, Kash. Settle down, don't you want to make a good impression?" Ally heard Austin's voice utter in a compassionate way. Ally walked out of her room, her natural curls bouncing over her shoulder as she crossed her apartment to step in front of the door. She smiled when she saw the blonde along with a fluffy yorkie puppy in his arms.

"Aw, he's so cute." Ally said walking up and scratching the puppy's ears. He barked happily.

"Yeah, I got your note when I got home, but I didn't have anyone to dogsitt. Is it ok if he's here while we do your thing?" He said, looking up at her with his hazel eyes. Ally looked away from the dog and smiled at him.

"Of course. Sit on the couch I just have to get some stuff out of the fridge. And the pizza should be here—" She said as there was another knock on the door.

"Right about now." She said, smiling as Austin walked into the living room with the puppy.

Ally paid the pizza guy, before walking into the kitchen and grabbing the drinks she had sitting on the counter and walking into the living room.

"There." She said, setting the pizza down on the coffee table. Austin looked up at her. "So what exactly do you have planned this evening Miss Dawson?" Austin said in a calm voice. Ally rolled her eyes.

"Believing in Christmas is not something that can happen over night. Or, maybe it can actually but that isn't the point." Ally said hastily, making Austin laugh.

"If you haven't noticed, I have systems for everything. So, we are going to follow a system of steps called, 'Ally Dawson's Very Merry Jingle Bell Rocking 5 step plan to believe in Christmas'." Ally said. Austin laughed at the brunette.

"Did you just make that up off the top of your head?" The blonde said, and Ally nodded with a triumphant look on her face, tugging her sweater a little lower over her jeans. Austin shook his head, before his eyes landed on her sweater.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Austin said looking at her sweater with furrowed eyebrows. Ally looked down at herself. Her sweater little pom poms as ornaments on a Christmas tree along with actual lights that lit up when you pressed the star button at the top.

"Oh," Ally said, a hint of amusement on her face as she picked up the bag sitting by the side of her couch and handed it to Austin. He pulled out a Christmas sweater that had a felt version of the snowman from Rudolf touching the red nose of the reindeer. Austin looked up at Ally.

"Press the nose." She said, smiling. He pressed Rudolph's nose and sure enough, it lit up red. Austin pursed his lips before looking up at Ally in question.

"Its part of our first step. Watch Christmas movies while wearing ugly Christmas sweaters. And we'll drink hot chocolate and eggnog after we eat dinner." Ally said, showing him the Christmas DVD's she had just picked up. Austin looked at the sweater and then at Ally.

"The sweater is not optional, before you ask." She said, as Austin opened his mouth. Kash jumped up on to the table, and Ally grabbed him before he could scuff anything. She brought him up so she was looking in his eyes.

"Do you want daddy to wear the sweater?" Ally said, and Kash barked. Ally looked back at the blonde who was in the middle of rolling his eyes. "Are you sure that was a yes?" Austin replied, getting up to take the sweater off that he was currently wearing. Ally turned around and inserted 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' in the side of her tv.

"Absolutely positive." Ally said, as she grabbed the remote, making Austin laugh.

* * *

><p>"This is actually really good, considering the name." Austin said, sipping his eggnog. Ally wrinkled her nose as the credits for their last movie rolled by.<p>

"Yuck. I can't stand that stuff. I only bought it so you could taste it. Take it home with you." Ally said, setting her hot chocolate mug that was overflowing with marshmallows on the table and turning to Austin.

He looked up, setting his mug down on the table as well. "Yes?"

Ally perched her elbow on her knee, placing her chin on her fist. Austin laughed. "So Mr. Moon, what did you learn from watching our Christmas marathon?" Ally said. Austin looked up thougtfully.

"I learned that reindeer named Rudolf have red noses, Santa Claus's family was actually elves, that there's a green monster who lives above Whoville who has a really small heart but it got bigger, and that a magical train comes and picks little kids up on Christmas Eve and brings them to the North Pole." Austin said, recounting the plot for the movies they had watched this evening. Ally rolled her eyes.

"No, the meaning behind them." Ally said, straitening and folding her legs indian style. Austin looked up thoughtfully again.

"Well, they all had something to do with Christmas." He said, completely serious, but she could see the glint of amusement in his eyes. She clapped once.

"Genius, I never would have thought Christmas movies would be about Christmas." She said, with a wondering tone in her voice. Austin just shook his head with a smile on his face. She had noticed he did that a lot.

"Ok, what was your favorite since you obviously didn't understand what any of them meant Mr. Grinch." She said, sipping her hot chocolate again.

"Um, The Grinch was my favorite, actually." He said, taking a drink of his eggnog. Ally raised her eyebrows. "Why is that?" She asked curiously. He took another sip of his eggnog before he answered.

"Because it wasn't just about Christmas."  
>"It wasn't?" Ally said.<p>

"No, it wasn't. It was about the Grinch being a better person overall, not just him realising how great Christmas is. His heart when from this," He said holding his hand up to show a little circle, "To this." He said spreading his arms wide, and making Ally laugh.

"I see your point. But, the reason his heart did that was because of Christmas." Ally said reasonably. Austin sighed. "Everything we do is going to lead to Christmas isn't it?" He said and Ally nodded.

"Yup. Because the whole point of this is getting you to believe in Christmas if you've forgotten that promise you made me already." She said, crossing behind them to wake up the sleeping yorkie.

He had fallen asleep during the second movie that they had watched. She felt bad that she had to wake him up when he looked so peaceful.

"Come on, Kash." She said, rubbing his fur as the small dog opened its eyes. It yawned, making Ally smile. She picked it up gently and handed it to the blonde. She walked him to the door, unlocking it for him.

"Do you want this back?" He said hopefully, pulling on the bottom of his Christmas sweater. Ally laughed.

"Nope. That wonderful, hideous sweater is yours to keep. Everyone has to have at least one ugly Christmas sweater." Ally said. "Consider it as a first time Christmas gift." She said, leaning on the door as he stepped out of it. Austin laughed, Kash barking in his arms.

"Well then, thank you." He said sincerely. Ally bowed her head.

"It was my pleasure, really." She said with a smile. Once they said goodnight Ally closed the door, already thinking of what step she was going to do next.

* * *

><p><strong>So I hope you guys liked it! Don't forget to review, I love hearing from you guys!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Merry Christmas Eve! So, this chapter has the second and third step combined in it, and a little bit more about these versions of Austin and Ally so I hope you guys like it! And since I want the last chapter ti be posted on Christmas, the fourth chapter will be up later today. So now that I'm dine talking... Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Ally was watching the red numbers tick to her floor number on the elevator as she waited alone for it to stop. It had been a few days since her and Austin's Christmas marathon and they had decided yesterday that they were both free to do their next step.<p>

During these three days, Ally had had fun saying hi and joking with him in the lobby and in the halls. The only thing she hadn't had fun with was the fact that everytime she talked to the blonde, she had gotten death glares from every female with in hearing distance.

She stepped out of the elevator when she heard the ding, the doors opening to let her out. She started digging her keys out of her pocket as she walked to her apartment. She looked up once she had got them, but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who and what was waiting in front of her door.

Ally looked behind her to see the elevator door still open. She silently thanked her inner shoe fairy for compelling her to wear a pair of her boots that didn't have heels today.

She slowly walked backward into the open elevator, pushing the close button frantically. Just then, to her abosolute luck, Austin walked by.

He looked up at the elevator and smiled when he saw the brunette. "Hey All— woah!" He said. He had obviously ignored her signs to be quiet and not say anything, so she pulled him into the elevator right before the doors closed.

"Um, Ally?" Austin said worriedly, watching Ally as she pressed the button that made the elevator come to a complete stop. She looked up at him and smiled apolegetically.

"Sorry, its just that, you know what it doesn't even matter. Not even important." She said leaning against the wall of the elevator and closing her eyes. Austin raised his eyebrows at her, swinging his keys around on his finger.

"If its important enough for you to freak out so much you pull me into an elevator and stop it completely, I think it kinda matters." He said, making her sigh and open her eyes.

"There was a guy in front of my apartment."

"Oh Ally darling, if you didn't like boys you could have just said so. I wouldn't have tried so hard to apologise a week ago." He said, making Ally roll her eyes.

"You are— you know what, I'm not even going to grace that with a brain patterned response." She said crossing her ankles. "The boy outside of my apartment was my ex-boyfriend for your information." She said, putting extra emphasis on 'boyfriend'.

"And you were running away from him, why? Was he really that bad a kisser Ally?" Austin said, now throwing his keys from hand to hand. Ally scoffed.

"Again, no. We broke up a year ago and he won't leave me alone." She said, and paused for a moment. "But, now that I'm thinking about it, he was kind of a wet kisser." She said, looking down at her shoes. Austin laughed.

"He keeps coming back to your apartment with flowers and gifts huh?" He said knowingly. Ally nodded.

"He comes to my work to, which I think is absolutely ridicoulous." She mumbled. Austin raised an eyebrow.

"May I ask a curious question Miss Dawson?" He asks, still twirling his keys.

"Depends on how 'curious' the question is Mr. Moon." She said, tilting her head at him. Her eyes started following the moving keys. "And stop doing that, your making me anxious." She said. A smirk appeared on his face as he shook some hair out of his eyes, like he was preparing to give a speech on World Peace and had to look charming and presentable.

"How serious were you and Mr. Desperate?" Austin asked, making Ally wince and bite her lip.

"He, uh, kinda asked me to marry him," Ally said, before looking up into the lights of the elevator, "On the same night I was planning to break up with him." Austin let off a low whistle.

"But, that's not the point! The point is that we broke up a year ago and he should stop annoying me and move on." Ally implied. Austin just shook his head. "You don't think he'll take the elevator when he leaves?" Austin said, making a viable point, but Ally shook her head.

"He won't, he hates elevators. Feels like they're going to drop him at any moment or some crap like that. But, I'm freezing so I'm getting out." Ally said, pressing the button that let the elevator go along with the button that opens the doors. She stepped out and let out a sigh of relief when she saw the space in front of her door completely clear.

"Did you bring the gloves I told you to bring?" Ally said, unlocking her door and throwing her purse on the couch. Austin leaned in the door frame, waving the black gloves that she had met him with in his hands.

"Wool gloves. These are my favorite so I hope whatever we're doing doesn't mess them up." Austin said. Ally emerged, a grin plastered firmly on her face. She had shed the coat she wore to work with a black marshmallow jacket with fur lining the hood. She was pulling on black gloves as well, but these were special. They were wool soft, but had leather fingerprints and leather palms.

"Why do you have cat burgalar gloves Miss Dawson?" He said, laughing. Ally just walked past him, shaking her head. "They're not cat burgalar gloves Austin." She said, opening the doors to the stairs.

"They look like it."  
>"I promise you they are not. Just special gloves for what we're doing." She said, trotting down the stairs. Austin followed down after her.<p>

Ally walked all the way across the lobby, and across the street to Central Park. She finally stopped in an area with a leaf bare tree with white snow on its branches. The snow on the ground was still plush and white like a pillow. Austin was looking around, and had his back turned to Ally.

"This is really pretty, but what does it have to do with—" He had stopped mid sentence when a ball of snow hit his back. He spun around, and saw the brunette bended over laughing.

"What was that for?" Austin asked, watching the girl with amusement. Ally straightened up, and answered his question with a red hue to her cheeks.

"This is step two to our plan." She said, holding out her arms. "Christmas is, not just about the gifts and the cheesy repetitive Christmas carols, or how many lights you put up on your house." She said, raising her head up to the sky and letting the snow fall on her face.

"Its also, about having fun with your friends and family. And, being able to be a kid for awhile." She said, her brown eyes bright with spirit.

"So in honor of the childish part of Christmas, we are going to build a snowman and have a snowball fight." She announced, forming a snowball in her hands. Austin just shook his head. "If you say so, Miss Dawson. You are the boss. So what should we do first?" He asked. She smiled, pointing a gloved index finger at the blonde.

"I'm not the one who doesn't believe in Christmas. Its your pick Hero Boy." She said. Austin raised his eyebrows at the name, but didn't worry about it.

"Let's build a snowman." He said, making her smile.

He started rolling the bigger bottom half as Ally started on the slightly smaller middle half.

"A twenty-three year old guy making a snowman in the middle of central park. If any of my friends see me I will never live this down." He said, stopping the ball of snow under the canopy of branches. Ally just rolled her eyes, rolling her ball next to his.

"I'm twenty-three too you know. I am so risking my image for you." Ally said trying to lift the ball onto the other one. Austin laughed and rounded his ball to help the struggling brunette. He lifted it easily with his hands accidentally on top of hers as they both set it on top of the other ball of snow.

They're breath mingled as it made white clouds in front of them. Austin stepped back as they steadied it on top. They looked at each other.

"Do the top together?" Austin suggested. Ally nodded, the pom pom from her hat bouncing on her head, making Austin laugh.

They rolled out a snowball before rolling it around in the snow for five minutes to build it up so it was big enough to work as the head for their snowman. When they were done, Austin hauled it on top of the rest of their pieces. He leaned on Ally's shoulder as he looked at the three balls of snow appreciatively.

"It'd be perfect if only he had accesories." Austin said, with a sigh. Ally pulled a hat out of her jacket along with some black pebbles out of her jacket pocket. She walked forward and started placing the pebbles on the face and down his front. Austin grabbed the hat and sat it on the snowman's head.

"Go get some sticks for his arms." Ally said, pulling a carrot out of her pocket and placing it where the nise was to go. Austin walked to the tree and looked around, picking up some pretty good looking arm sticks. Austin went back and stuck them in the side of the snowman. Ally stuck a dollar tree cooking mitten on each stick.

"Now he just needs a name." Austin stated, looking at their snowman. Ally smiled.

"Charlie." Ally said contently. Austin looked down at her.

"Why Charlie?" Austin said, still looking at the brunette. Ally looked up at him.

"Because if I ever had a boy, I'd name him Charlie. No exceptions." Ally said, blinking her big doe eyes. "And Charlie is such a better name than Frosty." She said, adding a smile to her words. Austin smiled at her too. They stayed like that for a minute until Ally realised they were supposed to be having a snowball fight. She ducked out from under his arm, making him lose balance for a minute.

"Oh, your going to pay for that Miss Dawson!" Austin yelled after her as she hid behind the tree. He hid behind a snowbank that was already sitting a few feet from them. Ally gathered up a bunch of snow at her feet so she could quickly form snowballs while Austin quickly made a pile of the white weapons.

They spent about ten or twenty minutes lobbing snowballs at each other, barely missing Charlie the Snowman in the progress. They were having so much fun they didn't realise until they were both soaked in snow and chilled to the bone that they lived in one of the coldest states in America during the winter. They walked back across to the street after saying goodbye to their snowman Charlie.

They took the elevator this time, since neither of their legs felt up to making the trip up the stairs to the fifth floor. When the door dinged and Austin started to go toward his apartment, Ally grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going?" Ally said, with an eyebrow raised. Austin pointed towards his door.

"Home. Aren't we done?" He asked, but Ally shook her head.

"I must have forgot to say it earlier. We're doing two tasks in one tonight." She said. Austin smiled. "What did you have in mind?" Austin said, making Ally smile. She pulled him toward her apartment, unlocking the door and treading in.

Ally went into her room, calling behind her to turn the heater up. Austin did as he was told until Ally came out of her room, carrying a bundle of clothes in her arms. "Here. These are some of the clothes that Chandler left here and refuses to take back. These are the ones I haven't thrown out yet." Ally said. Austin raised a brow at the name.

"The guy that was outside my apartment earlier." She said, and Austin nodded in understanding. They both changed, Austin finishing after Ally. He came out the bathroom to her braiding her hair in the hallway mirror. Austin tickled her from behind to get her attention.

"Jesus," She said, jumping as she turned around. "You scared the life out of me." She said, and Austin laughed. "But your still standing there, pretty alive. Unless your ghost Ally." He said, with a sudden far away look in his eyes as he touched her nose gently before she hit his hand away.

"Come on, we have to start the next step before its too late." She said, grabbing his wrist and pulling him into the kitchen. He followed willingly, knowing that anything coming from the kitchen during Christmas from Ally was bound to be delicious.

They walked into the kitchen, Austin seeing a cookie tray, a plastic container of cookie cutters, and various cookie making ingriedients and tools. There was also a navy blue kettle and a small saucepan on the stove. Austin looked at Ally with a growing grin on his face that certaintly reached his eyes.

"Wait a minute, are we making—?"  
>"Christmas cookies!" Ally exclaimed, gesturing to all the stuff on the counter. Austin nodded his approval.<p>

"I like this step." He said, rubbing his hands together. Ally laughed.

"Christmas, has a very major part. Leaving carrots and cookies for Santa Claus and his reindeer. Santa, is the spirit of Christmas when you are a kid, and even sometimes if you have a big enough heart, when your older too. So, to embody this classic tradition, we are going to make homemade Christmas cookies and hot chocolate." She said. Austin just kept on smiling.

"Yeah, I really, really like this step." He said. Ally laughed. She walked over to the iPhone dock she kept in the kitchen and sat her phone in, scrolling to her Christmas playlist. Jingle Bell Rock sounded through the kitchen.

"We will also be listening to Christmas Carols." Ally said. Austin shrugged, rounding the counter to stand beside Ally and grabbing the wooden spoon sitting in front of him. "As long as I get cookies and hot chocolate, I will be happy." He said, tapping her with the spoon on the nose again. She laughed.

"Yeah, you might not feel the same way after we've gotten through half the playlist. These things get pretty repetitive after awhile."

* * *

><p>"Okay, I swear this one has come on, like, three times." Austin said, turning to Ally as she took the ball of cookie dough out of the freezer. She sat the ball on the counter, breaking it in half and giving one half to Austin to put in the freezer, while she rolled the cookie dough out over the light sprinkling of flour on the counter and under the piece of parchment paper she had layed on top of the dough. Austin turned around and looked at her funny.<p>

"What are you doing?" He asked curiously, looking at her while she rolled the dough out with her rolling pin. Ally rolled her eyes.

"If I do it this way then I won't need to add extra flour, which won't make the dough tougher, and makes sure there won't be any bumps in the cookies. My mom made them like this." Ally said, peeling the paper off the now rolled out cookies.

"Is your mom a perfectionist too?" Austin said, and Ally looked down when he used the present tense. Ally still nodded, pushing a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, uh, she was." Ally said, reaching over to grab the plastic container with the Christmas cookie cutters in it, her eyes still downcast towards the cookie tray.

Austin rounded the counter to help cut the cookies. He noticed that something he had said made her upset, but he didn't know what. So, he tried changing the subject.

"You have a lot of different genres on your playlist." He said, and Ally smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes like it usually did.

"Yeah, back in Miami, my dad owns a music store. I grew up with every kind of music under the sun. If it had music in it, I probably heard it." She said, laughing a little. "It was fun, growing up surrounded by all these beautiful sounds everyday. Especially when your dad could teach you how to make them." She said, placing the last cookie on the tray as her doorbell rang. Ally popped a piece of the extra cookie dough in her mouth.

"Wonder who that could be." Ally said. She started to round the counter, but Austin beat her to it. He dissapeared around the corner before Ally could realise what happened.

"Austin wait!" She shouted after the blonde, but he had already opened the door to reveal her curly haired best friend. Trish raised her eyebrows as did Austin.

"Austin?" Trish said at the same time Austin said "Trish?"

Ally went from confused to really befuddled. "Wait a minute, you two know each other?" Ally said, wiping some of the flour that Austin had put on her face while they were mixing cookie dough. Trish nodded.

"Yeah, he was the talent I was telling you about the other day." She said.

Ally looked at Austin. "You sing?" Ally said, suprise lacing her voice. Austin looked down at her smiling. "I was about to tell you before my manager knocked on the door." He said. Ally looked from Trish to Austin.

"Wait a minute, you signed him?" Ally said, now excited for her friend. Trish smiled, laughing at her excited friend as well. "Yeah, I did. I was coming over here to tell you but it seems like he beat me too it. But, you were right, he is cute." Trish said. And Ally mentally face palmed herself.

She started mouthing words like 'Why' and 'Really' towards her latina friend before Austin turned around and Ally stopped, plastering a goofy smile on her face to compliment his amused one. "You said I was cute Miss Dawson?" He said. Ally opened her mouth and closed it a few times, probably imitating a fish out of water before she could find coherent words.

"Well, uh, you know it was, um, before, I, y-you know knew you, so I couldn't really, er, judge." Ally said, coughing to clear her throat.

Ok, so almost coherent.

"Well, Alls, that was all I really wanted to tell you. Austin, don't forget you have an important show at noon. Even Ally is going to be there." Trish said, making Ally's eyes snap up.

"I am?" Ally said, getting a text right as she said it. She slid her phone out of her pocket and read the text that was from her boss, telling her she was covering a new artist concert tomorrow at noon. Ally looked back up at her friends. "I am." Ally said, gulping. Austin tilted his head. "Your a reporter?" Austin asked. Ally shook her head, opening her mouth but Trish beat her to it.

"Not technically. She's the anonymus music critic that everyone listens to in the New York Times." Trish said, nonchalantly. Ally looked at Trish with a glare.

"Thank you, Trish. For making me no longer anonymus." Ally said. Trish smiled, getting a beep on her phone. Trish sighed when she looked at it, looking back up at her best friend and her client.

"I have to go, but I'll see you both later." She said, smiling and walking off, texting away on her phone.

Austin closed the door, and turned around looking at Ally who was looking at her feet.

"So you want to finish these cookies and hot chocolate or what?" Austin said. Ally looked up, her brown eyes boring into his hazel ones.

"Your not going to talk up yourself so you get a good review?" She said, and Austin smiled.

"Nah, I know you. No matter what I say, my opinion won't sway you. And plus, there's no way I'm interupting a perfect Christmas caroling cookie making session." He said, making Ally smile.

* * *

><p><strong>So, that's it! I hope you guys liked it and don't forget to review!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

Ally was leaving her apartment to go to Austin's so they could do the next step when she felt her luck completely run out. Her ex was back _again_.

"Ally!" She heard him call from the door to the stairs. She dropped her hand to her side with her keys jingling in it as she heard him walk up to her. She spun around and plastered a really fake smile on her face, which dropped a little when she saw the big bouquet of red pointsettas in his hands.

"Chandler!" She said, her voice going light and high with fake enthusiasm. "What, uh, what are you doing here?" She said, pushing a piece of hair behind her ear. Chandler just smiled at her.

"I brought you flowers, I know they're your favorite around this time." He said, holding them out to her. She didn't point out that they were almost everyone's favorite around this time. She looked at the flowers and then at him. "I'm sorry, Chandler, but I can't except these." Ally said, making the boy's smile drop a little. His dark blue eyes still stayed wide with adoration though.

"Why not?" He asked innocently, and Ally almost felt bad for him. She felt bad about the fact he still hadn't gotten over her. Its not like he was a bad guy or not good looking, because he was with his combonation of jet black hair and blue eyes. It's just that they had been dating since junior year of college and by the summer they had graduated, Ally felt like she was stuck in _Groundhog Day _along with Bill Murray. It was like the same old day with the same guy and she didn't want her life to be reptitive. It felt like an endless cycle that she was stuck on that she wasn't happy with.

"Because, we broke up a year and a half ago, Chandler. I mean I appreciate the gesture, I do. And they're beautiful." She said, touching one of the red petals. "But, we broke up, and I don't think I should be excepting gifts from you." She said. He still had a bright look on his face as she walked past him.

"I was thinking maybe we could go out for hot chocolate or something? Start over?" He said from behind her, making her stop. She turned around slowly. He looked like he had gotten a big burden off of his chest. She opened her mouth to say something, when a voice came from behind her and gave her relief.

"Hey, Alls, what's taking you so long?" Austin said, her head snapped around when she heard Alls, and so did Chandler's. "_Alls?_" The dark haired boy said, looking from Austin to Ally. Austin walked up next to Ally and she looked up at him.

"Oh, sorry Austin. I was just talking to an old friend of mine." Ally said, going up on her tiptoes and giving the blonde a hug. "Help me." She whispered in his ear, before she pulled back. Austin kept his hand around her waist, which Chandler noticed.

"Ally, who's this?" Chandler asked, a slight edge to his voice. Ally put a suprised look on her face. "Oh, sorry, how rude of me. Austin this is my ex Chandler Lians. Chandler this is—"

"The current boyfriend, Austin Moon." The blonde said, leaning forward to shake Chandler's hand. Chandler shook it reluctantly. "You guys heading somewhere?" Chandler asked politely. Ally nodded.

"Yeah, we're going to the chrildren's center for the Santa and the gift giving. You know how I help out there every year." Ally said, and Chandler nodded. "Yeah, we used to do that." He said, like he was laying down territory he didn't have.

"Well, you guys have fun. Nice to meet you Austin, nice, uh, nice talking to you Ally." Chandler said, walking off down the hallway. Austin and Ally didn't relax until they heard the door of the stairs slam.

Ally let out a sigh of relief, letting her head fall on Austin's shoulder. Austin just laughed at her. "It's ok, you got through it Alls." He said. Ally looked up at him.

"Thank you for pretending to be my boyfriend." She said, smiling. Austin smiled down at her too. "Any time." He said, truthfully. They were still holding onto each other, though Chandler was long gone and they didn't have to pretnd for anyone anymore. They let go of each other reluctantly, and started walking towards the elevator.

"So we're going to the children's center? What's this lesson?" Austin said. Ally just smiled as they stepped into the elevator. "You'll see."

* * *

><p>"Ally! You're here!" Someone said, the moment they walked through the door. A tall old lady came up wearing a bonnet and a red Mrs. Claus outfit with a white apron. She didn't have to wear a wig, her hair was curly and white as it is.<p>

"I told you I was coming tonight Rose. I brought a friend if that's alright." Ally said, taking off her gloves and gesturing to Austin, who was looking around at the walls covered in children drawings and lights. Along with the big Christmas tree in the corner that had a big plush red chair next to it with gold trim and arm rest.

"Yeah that's great. But we have a big problem." Rose said, making Ally look up.

"What's wrong? And why hasn't Chris started with the kids yet, its almost eight." Ally turned to Austin. "Chris is the Santa every year. He doesn't even need to wear the fat suit and he's great with the kids." Ally said smiling. Rose shook her head.

"Not this year, Chris got the flu this morning. He's sick and we couldn't get a Santa in time." Rose said. Ally gasped. "No, what are we going to do?" Ally said, looking at the kids playing around the Christmas tree. Then, a thought hit her.

"Austin!" She said, catching his attention. "You can be Santa!" Ally said. Austin laughed shortly. "Are you serious Ally? I can't be—"

"Yes you can!" Rose said excitedly. "You'll have to wear the fat suit, but it'll be fine." Rose said, writing something down on her clipboard before telling Ally to show him where the dressing rooms were. Ally pulled him with her towards the doors behind the Santa chair.

Ally went to the closet in the spacious room, pulling out a big bag and a slightly smaller bag. She handed the big bag to Austin, who looked at it unappreciatively. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Austin said, unzipping the bag. Ally nodded with a smile on her face, folding her bag over her arm.

"Yeah, its all clean." Ally said. Austin laughed, and shook his head. Ally put her hand on his arm. "Austin, all you have to do is let them sit on your lap and listen to what they want for Christmas. Say, 'ho ho ho have a Merry Christmas' every once in awhile and you'll be good. And hope they don't pee on you." She said, mumbling the last part. Austin started to protest, but Ally walked into the bathroom with a smile on her face so she could change into her costume. Austin sighed, pulling the costume out.

He put on the fat suit, making his body big enough so he looked like Santa. He pulled on the red pants, and shrugged on the red coat, looping the belt through his pants. He was buckling the boots when Ally emerged from the bathroom. Austin looked up, and stopped buckling. Ally laughed. "What? Do I look that goofy?" She said, spinning around in her elf costume.

She had a red tutu on, with a green vest with red trim. The vest was over a tight fitting long sleeved red shirt. She had pointy elf ears sticking out of her curly hair, and her tights had a red and green ringed pattern on them that matched her hat, which had a white poof on the end. Her elf shoes had curled toes, with bells on the end. And to tie it off, her lips were cherry red, and her cheeks had an extra blush to them.

"You look adorable." Austin said, finally managing to buckle his boot. He straightened up. Ally laughed walking toward him, and digging the white beard out the bag along with the hat. Austin looked at them as she held them up. "I have to don't I?" He said, and Ally smiled, tugging the hat over his blonde hair. "Yeah, but you look cute, so don't worry." She said, while Austin pulled on the beard.

"Ok, so I'm going to go out and introduce you to the kids, and then your going to come out and be all Santa-y, and then they'll start coming up to tell you what they want for Christmas." Ally said, straitening his jacket.

"One question." Austin asked. Ally looked up at him.

"Was this part of your step?" Austin said, and Ally laughed, stepping back and making sure everything on him was straight. "Kind of. I was going to make you dress up like an elf with me, to embody the true spirit of Christmas. But you being Santa is way better." She said smiling while Austin rolled his eyes. Ally patted him on the tummy as reassurance before she walked out, grabbing a small red velvet bag off a table before she went out the door. Austin followed, waiting behind the door until Ally said something that sounded like a cue.

"Hey guys!" Ally said, in an elf like voice. Austin laughed in his arm.

"Santa and I flew all the way from the North Pole to come and see you guys. Have you all been good this year?" She said in her high falsetto, earning a cheer from the kids in the crowd. Ally put her hands on her hips and smiled. "Well then I guess you can all see Santa this year! Don't you think Santa?" She said, and Austin took this as his cue to exit.

He stepped out of the room, and when all the kids caught sight of him they cheered. "Yes, I think so Elf Ally. These kids all seem to be very good." Austin said in a deep voice. Ally laughed and clapped her hands. Austin went to sit in the chair while the kids made a line behind the velvet red rope.

For the next hour, kids sat on Austin's lap and told him what they wanted for Christmas. It got repititve towards the end. A doll, a pony, a doll house, a phone, a remote control car, a DS, an XBox. But the last little girl who came up, climbed on Austin's lap and said something completely different from anyone else.

"What's your name? No, wait don't tell me," Austin said, and Ally mouthed 'Analise'.

"Analise." He said, and the little girl brightened up, her copper hair bouncing. She adjusted the purple glasses on her face, and looked up at Austin.

"Analise, what would you like for Christmas?" Austin asked, and Analise blinked up at him. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose again, the freckkes around her nose becoming clearer.

"I don't want any toys for Christmas." She said, in a soft, light voice. "I just want my parents to stop fighting and be happy like they were when I was little." She said seriously, her big green eyes blinking up at him. Austin was speechless for a minute, because he didn't know what to say. He looked at Ally, but she raised her hands, because she didn't know what to say either.

Austin looked back at the little girl, and smiled. "No problem Analise." Austin said, and Analise smiled and gave him a big hug. "Thank you Santa." She said. She hopped off his lap, accepting the candy cane Ally handed her, running off to her Mom standing at the stairs.

Austin and Ally said goodbye to the kids, going back into the room to change.

It didn't take them long, and when Ally came out of the bathroom, Austin was pulling on his sweater. Ally looked at him as he zipped up the Santa costume in the bag.

"Why'd you say that? If you don't mind me asking." Ally said, taking the bag from him. Austin looked up at her and tilted his head with a smile on his face.

"You mean when I said you'll shoot your eye out to that kid who asked for a Nerf gun? Oh, I couldn't resist." Austin said, watching her put the bags in the closet. Ally laughed.

"That actually was pretty funny. He looked at you like you were nuts." She said closing the closet door gently. She turned to him. "But, no that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about what you said to Analise." Ally said. Austin's smile dropped. He sat down on the bench under him, and Ally leaned on the counter across from him.

"I just, understood what she was asking for." Austin said quietly, putting on the boots that he wore here. Ally tilted her head to the side, watching the blonde's movements carefully. She didn't ask anymore questions, because she could see it was something more than understanding behind what he had said to the little girl. So she just waited.

Austin stopoed and looked up at the ceiling, where a snowflake happned to be hanging. "When I was little," He started, "My parents owned a big company. I think they loved it more than they loved each other, more than they loved me." He said, giving a short noncommital laugh.

"They would fight, constantly. I mean I would come home and they were fighting, or I'd be trying to go to bed and they'd be fighting. It would be about the stupidest things too, stuff that didn't even really matter. Like, who was going do the laundry or who was going to make dinner. I never understood why.

"But, every year at Christmas, the fighting would stop. They'd be happy and nice, for me. I think its because they didn't want to ruin it for me. They wanted it _merry _and _happy_ for just that short period of time. But, as I got older they stopped caring. I think its cause they thought I didn't believe anymore so they could stop pertending to be happy, unless god forbid our family saw us unhappy." He said, his voice cracking slightly. Ally didn't dare say a word.

"But, when I turned twelve it stopped. Because my dad left. And he didn't just leave on some random day of the year, he left on Christmas." He said, staring at a fixed point in front of him. "He left on Christmas. He left a present for me under the tree, with a note telling me that I could always find him if I needed too. And he left my mom divorce papers already signed by him." Austin said, finally looking up at Ally.

"I figured if my dad could leave on the one day out of the year that everyone was supposed to be together, that was supposed to make evryone happy, what was the point in believing something like that?" He finished. He waited for Ally to apologise for something that wasn't her fault, but she didn't.

"Well, I think that's a pretty good enough reason not to believe in Christmas." Ally said. Austin raised his eyebrows. "Your not going to say sorry or anything?" He questioned. Ally raised her eyebrows.

"Do you want me to say that?" Ally said, walking forward and holding out her hand. Austin shook his head, looking at her with a newfound respect. She smiled.

"I didn't think so." She said. Austin reached up and took Ally's hand. Their skin touched, which they weren't accostomed too. Everytime they had touched hands or dragged each other somewhere, they weren't touching skin. And, now that they had, it felt like a tingling sensation that went all the way down to the toes.

Rose pushed open the door, pulling them out of the haze they had entered. They looked up at her, unlocking their hands. Rose looked frantic again, like the way she did when they first walked in.

"What's the matter?" Austin and Ally chorused at the same time. Rose scribbled on her clipboard again.

"The performers, who were supposed to sing for the kids. They're stuck in the snow. There is no way they're going to make it on time." Rose said. Ally dragged her hand down her face. "Next year, I am organizing everything in July, Rose." Ally said, and Rose nodded.

"Fine, Ally, but right now we don't have a performer for the—"

"We'll do it." Austin said, and now it was Ally's turn to look at him like he was nuts.

"You two are lifesavers, really." She said. And before Ally could protest, she walked out the room. Austin walked over to the closet and started rumaging through it.

"Austin."

Austin pulled out two outfits, one for Ally and one for him. "These will work don't you think?"

"I can't do this." She said. And Austin looked at her.

"Ally, you'll be fine." Austin said, pushing the bag of clothes into her hands. Ally looked up at him, looking for an excuse. "We don't even have a song to sing." Ally whispered. Austin rolled his eyes. "We are both musicians. We'll figure something out." Austin said. He pushed her into the bathroom, against her protest.

* * *

><p>"Ally? You've been in there for twenty minutes." Austin said, playing with the red suit he had found in the closet.<p>

"Austin, I don't think I can do this." Ally said from behind the bathroom door. Austin pushed open the door and saw Ally standing in a flowy red dress that reached her knees. She had a sparkly gold jacket over the dress, with reindeer antlers on her head.

"Why can't you do this?" Austin asked, putting his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him. "I haven't played music or sang for anyone since my mom died when I was seventeen, Austin. I don't know if I can anymore." Ally said looking down.

"Hey, look at me." Austin said, putting his finger under her chin and lifting it so se was looking straight at him, her red lips a few inches from his. He didn't take his eyes off of hers.

"I'm going to be right here, I'm not going anywhere ok? Just look at me." He said. Ally nodded, not moving her eyes. Rose knocked on the door, letting them know it was time.

"Come on, let's go give those kids the best Christmas they've ever had." Austin said, and Ally smiled, following him out of the room. They sat down at the piano that had replaced the red chair. Ally stared at the keys, before she rested her hands on them, and started to play a song her dad and her mom had sang to her every year.

_Didn't know what to get you  
>Ordinary just wouldn't do<br>But I just found the perfect gift for you_

Austin smiled, watching her sing. He laid his hands on the keys, playing notes so that the song sounded more complex than it actually was.

_I hear church bells a ringing  
>Carolers are singing harmony with me now<em>

Austin joined her on this line, they're voices mingling perfectly. Austin sang the next two lines while Ally played the keys.

_You are looking so lovely  
>Oh, even if the lights go out<em>

_We've got mistletoe and fire light  
>On this cold December night<br>The snow outside will set the mood  
>As I sing my song<em>

They looked up at each other, Ally's hands playing the notes by heart. She didn't take her eyes off if the blonde, and he didn't move his eyes either.

_We've got mistletoe and fire light  
>On this cold December night<br>The snow outside will set the mood  
>As I sing my song for you<br>Sing my song  
>Sing my song for you.<em>

They looked at each other once the song was finished, not even hearing the applause they were getting from the kids and parents. They finally got up, and bowed before jumping from the platform to hand out the presents.

They got seperated as the parents swarmed to tell them how beautiful their voices sounded, while the kids swarmed to get their presents. They didn't find each other until they bumped together from behind by the front door, where they had been pushed by the crowd of people. They turned around and looked at each other.

"You did great up there." Austin said, smiling at the small brunette, making her cheeks flush.

"You too." She said softly, looking up at him. Austin's eyes rolled up in his head, looking above them. "You know, I think that's mistletoe." He said pointing to a sprig of Holly above them.

"I think its Holly." Ally said. Austin shook his head.

"Well, I'm going to pretend that its mistletoe and kiss you anyway." He said, looking down at her and putting his hand on her cheek. Ally bit her lip and smiled. "Sounds good to me." Ally whispered as she leaned up to meet him halfway. Their lips collided in a soft and passionate kiss, warming Ally all the way to the ends of her hair. Austin pulled back after a minute, not just because they both needed air, but because he had a question.

"What was the last step, just out of curiosity?" He said. Ally laughed.

"The last step, was that you believed in yourself enough, to believe in Christmas." She said softly, and Austin just smiled.

"Well, Miss Dawson, mission accomplished." He said, leaning down to kiss her again.

* * *

><p><strong>Don't forget to review! Merry Christmas! (Last chapter will be up tomorrow. Sorry if it wasn't as good as you expected it to be.)<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

_3 years later_

"Austin!" Ally said. Austin looked up in time to catch his girlfriend as she ran into him on the edge of the ice skating rink.

"Woah, steady there." He said, making her laugh. "What happened to you boasting about how well you could skate? I think I've caught you about five times Miss Dawson." He said, and Ally laughed.

"And what was that you said about taking me on this wonderful Christmas Eve date before I have to go shopping for dinner for tomorrow? This is the third time you've zoned out on me blondie." She said. Austin pulled the beanie, that just happened to be his, over her eyes before leaning in and kissing her. She smiled, and pulled the beanie back up over her hair so she could see him better.

"Sorry Alls, I just got a lot on my mind." He said, giving her a half smile. She returned it by pecking him on the nose with her lips.

"Well, box it up and put it in a corner until we finish our date. I have a lot to get today. I have to get turkey and ham and pasta and cheese..." Austin let her trail off and pull him into the middle of the ice. They skated around, laughing with each other, but Austin had another more important thing on his mind that he couldn't box up and put in a corner.

Like, the fact that he wanted to propose to Ally tonight.

And he didn't have a ring, he didn't have a plan on how he was going to do it, nor could he think of anything creative and special enough to say to the most important girl in his life other than, "Will you marry me?".

So even when he had dropped hints asking what her ring size was, she was being her obliviously adorable self and had no idea what he was talking about.

Now as he was waving goodbye to her as she got in her car to go to the store and he was walking back to the apartment building, he had known he had to result to his only choice. Which was to call his manager, and Ally's best friend, Trish.

He dialed the number, and waited. She picked up on the third ring.

"Hey, Austin, what's up?" She said. He could hear the classic sounds of New York traffic in the background. He really hoped she was stopped, because if he told her his news while she was driving, she'd probably cause an accident.

"How much do you love Ally?" Austin said. Trish laughed.

"Austin she's my best friend. I've known her since we were five." Trish said with an obvious tone to her voice. "Why do you ask?"

"Ok, now how much do you love me?" Austin said. Trish laughed again.

"Well, your my favorite client if that's what you mean. And you make Ally really happy. Does any of this have a point?" Trish asked. Austin silently expelled a breath of air, it was now or never.

"I'm going to ask Ally to marry me." Austin said. There was no sound on the phone except the honks and yells of traffic in the background. Austin heard a car door slam.

"Trish?" Austin said gently.

"Yeah, I'm still here. Your going to ask Ally to _marry_ you?" Trish said loudly. So loud that Austin had to pull the phone away from his ear and switch it to his other one. "Yes, I'm going to ask her to marry me."

"Austin, that's great!" Trish said loudly, making Austin again, having to pull the phone away from his ear. "What kind of ring did you get? Did you decide how you're going to do it? What are you going to say?" Trish said, rattling off all the things Austin still hadn't done yet.

"Well, you see," Austin started, "I haven't exactly bought a ring yet, or figured out how I'm going to propose. Or what I'm going to say." He said. There was quiet on the line again for a little longer than the last time.

"Trish?"

"I'll be at the apartment in ten minutes." She said, before the line went dead.

* * *

><p>"So, you don't have the ring."<br>"No."  
>"And you have no idea how you are going to do it."<br>"Nope."  
>"And why exactly didn't you have this planned?"<p>

Austin sighed. "Because I was looking at her this morning and I realised it. And I want to do it tonight because Christmas is kind of a big thing for us if you've forgotten." Austin said, making Trish stop her pacing. She leaned over the couch to look Austin in the eye.

"Are you absolutely positive you want to do this? Cause if you break my friends heart—" Trish said, but Austin interrupred her mid sentence.

"I am in love with her Trish," Austin said slowly, making sure the latina caught his every word. "She is it for me." Austin said quietly. Trish blinked at him, and straightened her back. She nodded slowly before running a hand through her hair and grabbing her purse and her keys.

"Come on." Trish said, walking towards the front door. Austin grabbed his jacket and his key and followed her out the door.

"Where are we going?" Austin asked as they thundered down the stairs. Trish pushed the door open as they walked into the lobby. "Ally has wanted the same ring since she was old enough to know what it is. So we're going to the mall to get it. And while we are driving, you are going to rack your song writer brain until you figure out how to ask my best friend to marry you." She said.

"Trish, it doesn't come automatically. And what if Ally comes home and finds me not there? I told her I'd be off today." Austin said. Trish pressed the unlock button on her jet black Subaru, pulling the driver's side open and jumping in. "We'll tell her we're taking care of some extra stuff for your show tomorrow. And I can get Jace and Dez to keep her busy." Trish said, leaning over to open the passanger side door. Austin climbed in.

"So what store are we going to?" Austin asked, as Trish pulled out of the parking lot. Trish laughed.

"Where do you think we're going? We're going to Jared." She said, before pulling off.

* * *

><p>"Are you writing like I told you to?" Trish asked, not looking away from the road. Austin glared at her sideways.<p>

"It's not as easy as you think." Austin said, and Trish scoffed.

"Why can't you just ask her to marry you? That's what Jace did for me." She said. It was Austin's turn to scoff. "Please, guys can't just ask a girl to marry them. If we don't put effort into it, you guys get mad. And Jace told me he asked you while he was jumping on the trampoline at work. Not to mention you two have been dating since you were in high school." He said. Trish grinned.

"And we've been married for two years. And he's a stunt double. If he didn't do it special I would have been offended." Trish said, further proving Austin's point. "Exactly! And she'll get offended if I don't write her a song or a poem or something. And, plus, Ally hates big gestures. That's why she said no to Chandler." Trish shook her head as she turned into the mall parking lot.

"No, she said no to Chandler because she didn't love him. That's different." Trish stated, pulling into a parking spot. They both got out of the car, still bickering about what Austin was going to say to Ally.

Austin was having trouble writing his proposal because this wasn't just another song. It was him asking Ally to spend the rest of their lives together. And for someone like Ally, who had changed his whole outlook on life, not just Christmas itself.

They walked into the galleria, Trish walking right up to the counter. "How may I help you Miss?" Said the man behind the counter, who was in a black tailored suit and a satin blue tie. Trish smiled at him politely.

"Is there any chance you still have the 'My Music' collection in stock?" Trish asked, the man nodded and bent down to go under the glass. He pulled out a row of rings and necklaces and bracelets. Trish pointed to the ring in the middle, and Austin leaned over to look at it.

"That's the one." Trish said. The ring was white silver with a round diamond. There were blue sapphires wrapped like thread on the top and bottom of the diamond, continuing out on the front of the band on both sides. Austin looked up at Trish, who was looking at him. "How much is it?" Austin asked the man who was also looking at him.

"Eight hundred dollars." The man said confidently. Austin blew air out of his cheeks, before he reached for his wallet. "Why does she want this specific one anyways?" Austin asked Trish as he handed his credit card to the man. Trish smiled.

"It's the same one her dad got for her mom." Trish said. Austin looked back at the man who was boxing the ring. He handed back his credit card and Austin gingerly put it back in his wallet before taking the ring, and wishing the jeweler a merry Christmas.

Trish and Austin pushed through the Christmas Eve rush crowd towards the escalator.

"Have you figured out how your going to do it yet?" Trish asked as she leaned against the side of the moving stairs. Austin shook his head.

"No, I can't think of anything—" He started, stopping when he looked into a store over Trish's shoulder. "Special enough." He finished. Trish turned around and followed where he was looking at. She put her hand over her mouth.

"That's perfect!" Trish exclaimed. They were both looking at the advertisement the Hallmark store had in its window for a silver ornament that opened up like a rimg box. The headline said, "Make this a Christmas to remember and propose while trimming the tree. Limited time only."

"Do you think they sold out yet?" Austin asked, as he dismounted the escalator and speedwalked to the store. Trish shrugged, trying to keep up with his long strides. They ran into the store, alarming the old lady behind the counter. Austin reached the counter, out of breath.

"Would you, uh, happen to have any ring box ornaments left?" He said, still trying to catch his breath. The lady turned around and picked up a square silver box which she handed to Austin shakily. He handed her his credit card.

"I hope this works." He said, as they exited the store. Trish laughed.

"Have you met Ally? She won't realise it until you open the box."

* * *

><p>"Austin? Could you come help me with the b-bags?" Ally started, but stopped when she saw the Christmas lights leading almost like a trail from the door.<p>

"Aus? Where are you?" Ally called, following the trail of the lights. She walked past the kitchen and smiled when she saw her boyfriend standing next to the Christmas tree with two crystal champagne glasses. "I'm right here." He said. Ally smiled, walking forward and taking a champagne glass from him.

"What is all this?" She said, looking around at the lights. Austin gently hit his glass against hers. "Its Christmas Eve, and I thought I'd make up for zoning out on you this morning." He said. Ally leaned forward and kissed him softly.

She pulled away, wrapping her arms around his neck. She closed her eyes as she squeezed him, opening them again as she was about to pull away, but she noticed something on the tree.

"Is that a new ornament?" Ally asked, pulling back enough so she could look at the new edition to their Christmas tree. Austin grinned.

"Yeah I got it today. Do you like it?" He asked. Ally reached out and put her hand around the silver ornament. She saw how much it weighed down the tree branch it hung on, but thought it was normal. "Its beautiful. Is it glass?" She asked, running her finger over her reflection. Austin shook his head.

"It looks like it." She weighed it in her hands. "And its really heavy for an ornament." She said, removing it from the tree. She ran the pad of her thumb up and down the ornament a few times before she noticed a fault wrapping around it. She turned it over and saw the hinge.

"Austin... Why does the ornament have a hinge?" She asked. Austin kissed her on the cheek from behind. "Because it's an engagement ring box." He said nonchalantly. She turned her head to look at him.

"Its a what?" She said in a breath. He took the ornament out of her hand and opened it, revealing the white pillow that was incasing the ring. Ally sucked in a breath, placing her hand over her mouth. "My mom's ring." She whispered through her fingers. Austin bent down on one knee in front of the Christmas tree, the different colored lights refracting off of his face.

"I know you wouldn't want me to sing a song to you, because you hear me do that everyday. But, I couldn't put important enough words in a song, to ask you to spend of our lives together." Austin said, Ally had tears streaming gently from her eyes.

"I know it's not much, and I know you deserve a hell of a lot better," he said, "but would you, Ally Hope Dawson, do me the honor of being my bride?" He said. Ally didn,t know what to say. No wait, she couldn't get the words out. She just nodded her head and watched him rise up and put the ring on her finger. Then when he looked up, she went up on her toes and pressed her lips against his.

They kissed like they had the first time he'd kissed her under the sprig of holly that he had pretended was mistletoe. He could taste the saltwater on her lips, but he didn't care. All he could do was feel the soft pressure of her lips as she moved them against his, the fireworks that she set off inside him since the first time they touched.

She pulled away a few inches, looking him in the eyes. "You won't be able to call me Miss Dawson anymore." She said against his lips. He smiled.

"I think I can manage." He said, before pressing his lips against hers again.

* * *

><p><strong>MERRY CHRISTMAS LOVELIES :):):):):)<strong>


End file.
